1. Home > Featured, Ideas
Staying Afloat
By Sophia Bennett | July 22nd, 2015
Share this article:
To keep members active during the winter, Royal Canadian YC sold remote-controlled sailboats and purchased industrial fans to
create a “windy” environment on the indoor pool where members could practice their sailing skills. Weekly races proved to be
more popular than expected, with participants ranging in age from 6 to 88. The club also live-streamed the races in the bar so all
members could enjoy them.
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club organized remote-control sailboat races in
the swimming pool of its midtown winter clubhouse to keep members
engaged during the wintry off-season.
How do you keep a group of Canadian sailors entertained during the winter, when the lakes and bays have all
frozen over?
Find a way to move their favorite hobby indoors.
During this winter’s coldest months, when it was impossible to navigate boats through the frozen waters of
Toronto Harbour, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club organized remote-controlsailboat races in the swimming
pool of its midtown winter clubhouse.
The program’s goals were two-fold, says General Manager and CEO David Brightling. “I wanted to reinforce
the role of the City Clubhouse as a winter home for sailors,” he says. The races were also designed to help
members maintain and even improve their sailing skills.
2. Brightling got the idea from a club he managed in Singapore. “We were trying to introduce sailing into a
culture where interest in the sport was not very deep,” he says about that experience. To get people engaged
with the sport, the club bought some remote-controlled sailboats and encouraged members to practice with
them in the marina.
Remote-controlled sailboat at Royal Canadian Yacht Club
When he took the helm at Royal Canadian YC, Brightling wanted to adapt the idea for a local audience. He
asked his sailing office staff what they thought about racing toy sailboats around the pool. “I must admit, I
think they thought I was nuts,” he chuckles.
Still, the staff went ahead and developed the idea. They searched online to find a remote-controlled sailboat
model that could be purchased for around $240 Canadian. Brightling felt it was important that all the boats be
the same model, so no one felt at a disadvantage (when life-sized sailboats race, a handicapping system
compensates for any differences in the vessels). The club bought industrial-sized fans to create wind and
designed a course for the pool.
Club staff announced what they were doing and invited members to try out the boats. Several people purchased
them; others bought the crafts but donated them back to the club so they could be “leased” to people. In total,
65 boats were sold.
Brightling expected only a handful of people to show up for the inaugural race in October, but 50 came out.
Racers put their boats in the water at a starting line at one end of the pool, then raced up and down three times
to the finish line. Competitors were broken into two groups after the initial race, with the top finishers
3. competing for the championship and the people in the bottom tier racing for a consolation prize. Because
alcohol is banned poolside, the races were broadcast live in the bar.
“Each winner received a mug and a coupon for a free beer—or a soft drink if it’s a young person, and it often
is, because kids are very good with games and hand-eye coordination,” Brightling says.
The races happened every week from October until the club’s island sailing facility opened again in April.
Turnout was consistently between 20 and 25 people. The events attracted men and women between the ages of
6 and 88, and brought people to the club on a night when they might have otherwise stayed home.
“It exceeded my expectations,” Brightling says. “Everyone had a lot of fun.” The club is already planning to
continue the sailboat races this coming October—and will likely add powerboat racing on Tuesday nights.
Revenue gains from the event were modest. Besides the sale of the boats, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club
charged a $40 fleet fee to cover the cost of prizes. The more lucrative part of the program was the increased
food-and-beverage sales, Brightling says.
But more importantly, the event served its purpose of drawing people to Royal Canadian’s City Clubhouse and
helping them improve their sailing skills. Brightling says he rode in an elevator with one of the youngest
participants after a race. He asked him about the difference between racing a remote-controlled boat and an
Optimist, a vessel used to train children on sailing.
“He said, ‘I can see the pattern of the waves far ahead of the boat,’” Brightling recalls. “So he’s learning about
how to watch the water for wind patterns. He’ll practice lessons learned from this experience when he’s sailing
his boat in the lake.”
Browse Similar Articles by Subject: david brightling, Royal Canadian Yacht Club, sailing, toronto harbour
